Acxiom flogs off specialist email unit in $50m deal

Acxiom has sold off its specialist email services unit, Acxiom Impact, to the data-driven marketing technology group which recently completed a deal for Ebay Enterprise’s CRM division.
Co-founded in 2007 by former Apple chief executive John Sculley, Zeta Interactive operates a SaaS-based marketing cloud. Its prime service is designed to help brands acquire, retain and build customer relationships. The deal estimated to be worth about $50m (£38.5m).
Acxiom Impact provides marketing tools for email, desktop and mobile web, social media and display ads. The deal also includes a long-term strategic relationship with Acxiom’s LiveRamp, which is designed to help brands link offline and online data.
Zeta has been building its platform through acquisitions. Last November, it bought eBay Enterprise’s CRM division, which included an enterprise-grade email service provider, a data management product and an automated attribution solution. In 2013, Zeta (then known as XL Marketing) acquired Adchemy’s customer acquisition division.
Following the acquisition, Zeta Interactive will now have more than 1,300 employees operating in 25 offices across four continents.
Zeta chief executive and co-founder David Steinberg said: “Adding Acxiom Impact’s highly-rated technology and world-class professional and managed services into Zeta’s world-class platform is a game-changer not only for us as a company, but also for the marketplace.
“As Zeta drives towards realising our vision of solving CMOs’ biggest challenges by making data actionable at every step of the customer journey, we are constantly seeking opportunities to get there faster. [This deal] brings together two like-minded companies with a passion for driving client success – across the entire customer journey, cross-channel and cross-device.”
Acxiom Impact general manager David Bonalle, who will continue in his role as the firm becomes a division within Zeta, said: “This acquisition is a great opportunity for our associates, our partners and, especially, our clients.”

TOPICS:Acxiom ebay email marketing